Aussies unwilling to move for work! Or are they?
MEDIA RELEASE
‘Aussies unwilling to move for work’ by The Chronicle, a response to a discussion paper released in July 2012 by the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency, outlines an Australia where workers are unwilling to move to regional areas and a future where low-skilled workers would be in less demand than highly skilled workers with tertiary qualifications. The article states that the health and community services sector is most likely to create the biggest challenges in regards to skills shortages in regional Australia in the future.
The discussion paper suggests that regional mobility is fairly limited, particularly among less skilled workers – however it bases this statement on statistics gathered in 2009-10. Research undertaken by The Reinvent Your Career Centre Australia comes to a very different conclusion.
In 2011, Reinvent Your Career surveyed over 3,000 adult workers aged between 18 and 64 who attended the Reinvent Your Career Expos held in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney and found that 56% of attendees were willing to relocate for work.
Forty-six per cent of attendees held a bachelor’s degree or higher and seven per cent held a trade qualification. The health and medical services industry made the top five current industries that attendees were working in at the time.
More recently, at the Reinvent Your Career Expo held in Brisbane in March 2012, another 1,000 people were surveyed. Forty-nine per cent said they were willing to relocate.
Health and medical services once again made the top five current industries that attendees were working in and 47% held a bachelor’s degree or above, with nine per cent holding a trade qualification.
At the Reinvent Your Career Expo held in Melbourne in June of this year, another 1,300 people were surveyed with 47% willing to relocate for work. Forty-five per cent of attendees held a bachelor’s degree or higher, five per cent held a trade qualification and again, health and medical services made the top seven current industries attendees worked in.
Nicholas Ricciuti, CEO of Reinvent Your Career, states:”Our statistics show and demonstrate that for real people in the workforce trying to find a better job or career, relocation and even a pay cut is definitely acceptable for the right job. It is clear that Australian workers are willing to relocate to rural and regional areas, and furthermore, those already working in the health and medical services industry would be more than willing to do so. Seventy-six per cent of people we have surveyed are even willing to take a pay cut if they found the right job.”
People are willing to relocate, but need more information. Industries experiencing skills shortages, particularly the mining industry, generate thousands of enquiries; however they state that these are not the types of candidates they are looking for. The general public simply do not know the skill sets certain industries require and what’s involved in relocating. Emphasis on community, schools and family support, for example, in regional, rural and remote areas needs to be a priority.
“In my experience it is the lack of communication by the employers with ‘real aged career people’ that acts as the largest barrier to a considered exploration of options available in another region. In the past year we have placed over 1,700 people into work through our initiative which has included State governments, Skills Councils, peak industry associations, international corporations and franchisors all in a war for talent to attract workers with the right skill sets to where their jobs are. Geographical career reinvention for some is actually being keenly sought,” says Mr Ricciuti.
Consider the Australian Defence Force, they work in some of the most remote locations in Australia, but the support that families receive and the systems they have in place to assist with relocation makes it as simple a process as possible. Do these industries requiring people to relocate offer such support? We don’t know because it isn’t talked about. People are willing to relocate based on the above statistics, but they need to know what’s involved.”
Should you be considering a move to rural or regional Australia, and work in the health and community services sector, the August edition of the Reinvent Your Career E-Mag features articles and information on rural health careers. To subscribe for free to the Reinvent Your Career E-Mag, please visit our website at: http://www.reinventyourcareer.com.au/e-mag/.
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For further information or to arrange an interview with Nicholas Ricicuti please contact:
Elyse Hocking
Marketing Manager, Reinvent Your Career
Ph: 03 98662111
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